How to grow roses from seed?

Growing roses from seeds is not the fastest method for propagating roses but has several advantages. Roses from seeds take a little longer but then you end up developing a new set of varieties. Professional hybridisers select a new line of easy to grow and disease resistant rose to propagate. However, for you, each seedling will be a surprise when they finally bloom. It is like opening your birthday present when you were a kid. You never really knew what to expect! That is the same feeling seeing those little seedlings opens up for the first time.

There are several processes one must follow when growing roses from seeds. For professionals, the process starts in the garden where they monitor the flowering and pollination process as they choose favorite varieties. For our case, we will start with the seed collection process.

Seed collection

The rose hips must be allowed to develop on the plant for at least four months for them to fully ripen. They have to be collected in autumn, cutting them off using the right garden tool. You can use cuticle scissors or tweezers to cut them off before cleaning them.

Rosehips ready for collecting

The ripened rose hip is then placed on a clean cutting board and cut in half to remove the seeds. Place the seeds in a clean container. Add some diluted bleach to kill off any bacteria and fungus spores. You can make the bleach by mixing drinking water with two teaspoons of household bleach. Stir the seeds well before rinsing them and using bottled water to remove all the bleach. To further clean and disinfect the seeds, put them in the container and add some hydrogen peroxide. The seeds can be soaked for up to 24 hours before rinsing them with clean water to clear all the hydrogen peroxide.

Collecting rose seeds

Soaking the seeds is a crucial step if your seeds will germinate properly and stay clear of any diseases. You MUST not mix the bleach with the hydrogen peroxide as this results in a chemical reaction. 3% peroxide for 24 hours is just fine. This is also a good time to perform the water float test. Remove all seeds that float as they might not be viable.

Starting the rose seeds

Before growing the roses from seed, the seeds have to undergo a period of stratification. This is a cold moist storage that gets the seeds ready for germination.

Cold Treatment

Chilling your seeds in a refrigerator for about six to ten weeks encourages them to germinate faster once planted. However, you must take care to avoid keeping them cold for long as they can germinate while still in the refrigerator. Place your seeds on a paper towel before moistening them. Use half purified water and half peroxide to prevent the growth of mould. You can then place them in a plastic zippered bag, mark the date and variety before placing in a refrigerator set at 1 to 3 degrees C. The paper towel should remain moist for the entire period. You can check occasionally to see if it needs remoistening. Make sure you don’t freeze the towel.

There are other ways to stratify the seeds like planting them in a tray of potting mix and refrigerating the entire tray for weeks. The tray is usually enclosed in a plastic bag to keep it moist.

Planting your seeds

When you think your seeds are ready for planting (6-10 weeks), remove the bag from the refrigerator if that was your stratification method. You will need shallow trays or small pots to plant your seeds. Whatever works between the trays and pots is fine as long they have good drainage. The ideal size of the trays or pots should be 3-4 inches deep.

You can use separate trays when planting seeds from different varieties of rose hips. You must follow your labeling all the way down from harvesting, treatment, and planting. The rose bush name and planting date are some of the details to indicate on your trays or pots.

Next fill your trays or pots with the potting soil. You can opt to use 50% sterile potting soil and 50% vermiculite, or half peat and half perlite. When the potting mix is ready in the trays or pots, this is the time to take off your seeds from the towel. Remember the seeds must not be removed from the plastic bag until they are ready to be planted. You lightly dust them before planting.

Place your seeds about ¼ inch into the soil and dust the surface again to prevent the damp off disease that kills seeds. Water them properly and place them outside in direct sunlight. If there is frost, it is advised you place your seeds under a tree or in a sheltered part of the patio to protect them. There is no need for grow lights.

Keep the soil pots or trays watered but not soggy. Do not let them dry up as this might affect the germination of your seeds.

Watch for germination

After about six weeks, the first two seed leaves will start to emerge before the true leaves can emerge. The seedling must have three to four true leaves before they can be ready for transplanting.

Planting your seedlings

Seedlings coming through the soil

When the seedlings are grown a few inches tall with at least three true leaves, they are ready to be transplanted. You can transplant them into a four-inch pot of your liking. You don’t have to plant all your seedlings but only the healthy ones. You can choose to monitor them on the tray and only transplant them when they have outgrown it.

You must monitor the seedlings as they grow in their new pots for colour, form, bush size, branching, and disease resistance. Roses with weak, unhealthy or unattractive flowers can be discarded. It will take your new seedlings at least three years before they reach maturity and develop into a big bush. However, the first flower can be seen after one or two years.

Growing roses from seeds appears a pretty long process but one that is rewarding when you follow all the steps as indicated. If you are a great DIY fan, then this is a nice project for you to enjoy as you brighten your outdoor space with blooming roses.

Hi Pete
To get the best success, yor rose seed will need a period of stratification (a cold period of about 6-12 weeks). Its a good idea to time this so that it coincides with when they would naturally start to grow in spring – probably around early March, depending on weather conditions. I would look to sowing them in late November/ December and popping them outdoors or if we have a mild winter then stick them in the fridge!
Your Pampas seed are probably best left to mid spring. They wont do much over winter anyway, and you risk losing them if they sit for long in cold, wet compost.
Hope that helps
Sue

I received some seeds as birthday present, the seller included a bonus packet of rose seeds. There’s no indication if they’ve been stratified. If I stratify them now, it will be July when they’re ready to plant. In this region (I’m ~50 miles north of Portland, Oregon)it might be mild or very hot. I’ve read that rose seed won’t sprout if it’s too hot – how well do rose seeds keep? Will they still be viable next Spring, or should i take a chance on the weather and start them now?

Hi Spencer, I very much doubt that they’d have been stratified so maybe leaving them would be the best option, if you can possibly keep them somewhere cool until spring that would be great, if not, there’s always the chance to try them now, but it’s a gamble!
I hope this helps
All the best
Graham

Hi! I live in a hot humid country where temperature tends to go to 35deg celcius…I received some rose seeds and intend to try and grow them…do i need to do the cold stratification process or can i just plant the seeds right away? Thanks.

I have stratified my rose seeds in the fridge I looked at them to day they have little shoots look ok not mouldy. What soil mix do you recommend my garden soil is sandy could I mix this with some compost.
Is it essential to dust with fungicide or can I just plant.
I have read people putting them outside should I or do I keep them indoors in a light place.Sorry so many questions.

Hi Susan,
I would definitely mix in some compost with your garden soil as this will improve the structure of it. The dusting with fungicide is useful as it prevents the risk of infection, however, if you keep an eye on them and be ready to spring into action then it could be worth trying without . As for planting, I would personally keep them inside for a while, give them a chance to strengthen up before putting them outside in the elements!
I hope this helps
All the best
Graham

Hi,
My seeds germinated late last spring and each one is now in a 1 liter pot. They are in a cold greenhouse and are quite small. They did not set out any branches during the Icelandic summer so I was wondering if I should cut their tops off in the ea4ly spring to make them branch out? Or should I wait for a year to do that?
Thank you.

Hi Margret,
I would definitely wait until the plants get a bit taller before you cut anything from them, let them get to approximately 25 – 30 cm , then it can be prunes back in half to encourage new shoots to grow.
I hope this helps
Graham

I Mary,
I would keep them somewhere cool and dry and they should be fine – don’t worry if the flesh of the hip starts to deteriorate as it’s the seed inside that’s the important bit!
All the best
Graham

Hi Kathy,
I would be inclined to keep them in an unheated greenhouse over the winter, just to be on the safe side. It would be terrible to lose your plants because of a heavy frost or snowfall this winter!
All the best
Graham

“Remember the seeds must not be removed from the plastic bag until they are ready to be planted. You lightly dust them before planting.
Place your seeds about ¼ inch into the soil and dust the surface again to prevent the damp off disease that kills seeds. Water them properly and place them outside in direct sunlight” Dust with what? Thanks.

Hi Saul,
as mentioned when I replied to Mick, the powder with be a fungicide as we’re trying to help prevent dampening off – although careful watering is always the best solution to this problem. The hydrogen peroxide mentioned in the blog will be the same as the hair bleach and is just an extra precaution taken by the author to sterilise her seeds. Using normal bleach in tiny quantities is usual practice in preventing harmful bacteria in seed processes, especially if they are prone to disease in the first place.
I hope this helps
Graham

Hi JoAnn
I would say using a yellow sulphur powder would be best as the main purpose is to help prevent any dampening off. The powder may not actually be necessary and is just a precaution of course
I hope this helps
Graham

Kathy Coniff
on July 8, 2017 at 11:58 am

My rose seedlings are 3to5 inches tall and looking very healthy . leave them in the garden on a table . Do I just leave them as they are ? Thank you

Hi Kathy,
if they are looking healthy and growing well, I would leave them as they are for now, keep an eye on them so that they don’t become root bound and I would probably feed them every so often too as normal compost only usually holds sufficient nutrients for 6 weeks or so. re pot as necessary and possibly transplant them next spring.

Hi Kathy,
is the white powder from water evaporating and leaving a residue behind? If not it may just be a slight mildew problem. Keep an eye on them and also, importantly, keep them well ventilated too, this will help keep mildew away, if that was the issue.
I hope that this helps
All the best
Graham

Hi Graham! I’m a newcomer to this blog, and growing anything green, and I am fascinated by all the advice, thank you!
In you comment on July 13, 2017 at 9:11 am you recommend ‘feeding’ the rose seedlings. With what does one feed a rose seedling? probably an obvious question, but I’m clueless!

Hi Francesca!
Welcome to the blog, I hope you enjoy reading all the different articles from our great bloggers here!
Feeding at that stage would generally refer to a balanced feed ( a multipurpose type ) that will ensure that the young plant gets all the nutrients it needs as it puts on lots of early growth. The Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus balance should be even at this stage.
I hope that helps
All the best
Graham